Global Leadership Blog

In my work helping women around the world develop advancement strategies, I’ve noticed traits, unique to women, that set them up to be strong leaders–particularly in a global environment.

One trait that makes women better global leaders is their ability to empathize.

Being able to wear other people’s shoes is very important when leading in a global environment. Leaders need to try to understand different perspectives and empathize in order to be effective.

While I’m always the first to teach the premise that agility and empathy are not exclusive to either gender, it’s hard to ignore the research. An in-depth white paper by Caliper states:

Women leaders also were found to be more empathetic and flexible, as well as stronger in interpersonal skills than their male counterparts.

“These qualities combine to create a leadership style that is inclusive, open, consensus building, collaborative and collegial,” said Herb Greenberg, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Caliper.

To read the other four traits that make women stronger global leaders, please click here.